RSS FeedFeb 02 2009
An Introduction to Earthships
I’m not sure how I first heard about earthships. I think it may have been several years ago through my brother, Chris, who has been interested in alternative and sustainable architecture long before I was. But, however it initially happened, my interest was rekindled when I came to stay with Charlie in New Mexico while the worst of the renovations to my house where being done.
Taos, New Mexico is ground zero for earthships. Their creator, Michael Reynolds, has lived in the area since the 1960’s. There are now three earthship communities established in the area.
Earthships are a form of radically sustainable architecture. Their basic building blocks consist of recycled tired packed with earth. Recycled cans and bottles are also frequently used to build walls, particularly interior ones, and also as decorative elements in the construction. On top of this are cement and stucco.
Earthships, with their large southern exposures, are designed to take advantage of solar gain. Their rammed earth walls that are surrounded with earth also provide thermal mass which continues to provide heat through the night.
One of the things that impresses me the most about these structures is how they manage water. The houses are designed to capture rain and snow melt on their roof, funneling it into large cisterns built into the structures. The cisterns gravity feed a water module that is equipped with a pump and filtration system to make it drinkable. Water that is used in the sinks, is then fed into the large planters into the house, providing another rough filtration system, and then used as water in the toilet. After the toilet, the water is contained and treated through a solar septic system, and then used a fourth time in exterior botanical areas. Generally a solar hot water system is tied to a propane on-demand heater to ensure hot water for showers. (One of my personal, must-have creature comforts.)
In terms of electricity, earthships use a photovoltaic / wind power system. The majority of lights and appliances inside an earthship run on DC power, as energy is lost when you convert from solar power to AC. However, AC outlets are also provided. During my stay in an earthship, I did not run into problems in terms of the amount of energy I was drawing from using either my laptop or the TV that was in the home.
I love that earthships are self-contained systems that generate their own heat and power. With their sprawl of plant cells, they also provide the ability to raise a substantial amount of your own produce.
But what also attracts me equally to earthships are their aesthetics. Interior earthship walls are almost always stucco, and frequently in the bright, southwestern colors I love. Glass bottles are frequently used for ornamentation, and end up lighting rooms in a prism of colors. Because all of the walls in an earthship are handshaped, there are often circular and curved walls which you don’t tend to find in more traditional homes. Rooms have a much more creative, organic feeling to me. And I adore the sunlight and extensive array of plants you find along the southern exposure of these homes.
Because several people I’ve spoken with recently have never heard of earthships, I’ve attached a gallery of images below to help you get a feel. The majority of these images come from the Earthship Biotecture website. If they seem like your kind of thing, I encourage you to check out their website. It’s the best online resource out there for learning more about earthships.
These structures really are amazing and can easily be adapted to a small-size home.
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I’m not sure how I first heard about earthships. I think it may have been several years ago through my brother, Chris, who has been interested in alternative and sustainable architecture long before I was. But, however it initially happened, my interest was rekindled when I came to stay with Charlie in New Mexico while the worst of the renovations to my house where being done.
Taos, New Mexico is ground zero for earthships. Their creator, Michael Reynolds, has lived in the area since the 1960’s. There are now three earthship communities established in the area.
Earthships are a form of radically sustainable architecture. Their basic building blocks consist of recycled tired packed with earth. Recycled cans and bottles are also frequently used to build walls, particularly interior ones, and also as decorative elements in the construction. On top of this are cement and stucco.
Earthships, with their large southern exposures, are designed to take advantage of solar gain. Their rammed earth walls that are surrounded with earth also provide thermal mass which continues to provide heat through the night.
One of the things that impresses me the most about these structures is how they manage water. The houses are designed to capture rain and snow melt on their roof, funneling it into large cisterns built into the structures. The cisterns gravity feed a water module that is equipped with a pump and filtration system to make it drinkable. Water that is used in the sinks, is then fed into the large planters into the house, providing another rough filtration system, and then used as water in the toilet. After the toilet, the water is contained and treated through a solar septic system, and then used a fourth time in exterior botanical areas. Generally a solar hot water system is tied to a propane on-demand heater to ensure hot water for showers. (One of my personal, must-have creature comforts.)
In terms of electricity, earthships use a photovoltaic / wind power system. The majority of lights and appliances inside an earthship run on DC power, as energy is lost when you convert from solar power to AC. However, AC outlets are also provided. During my stay in an earthship, I did not run into problems in terms of the amount of energy I was drawing from using either my laptop or the TV that was in the home.
I love that earthships are self-contained systems that generate their own heat and power. With their sprawl of plant cells, they also provide the ability to raise a substantial amount of your own produce.
But what also attracts me equally to earthships are their aesthetics. Interior earthship walls are almost always stucco, and frequently in the bright, southwestern colors I love. Glass bottles are frequently used for ornamentation, and end up lighting rooms in a prism of colors. Because all of the walls in an earthship are handshaped, there are often circular and curved walls which you don’t tend to find in more traditional homes. Rooms have a much more creative, organic feeling to me. And I adore the sunlight and extensive array of plants you find along the southern exposure of these homes.
Because several people I’ve spoken with recently have never heard of earthships, I’ve attached a gallery of images below to help you get a feel. The majority of these images come from the Earthship Biotecture website. If they seem like your kind of thing, I encourage you to check out their website. It’s the best online resource out there for learning more about earthships.
These structures really are amazing and can easily be adapted to a small-size home.
Wow, Steph these are great and the pictures are fantastic. Great find!
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Steph Reply:
February 2nd, 2009 at 8:36 am
@Kent, thanks! The credit for most of those goes to Earthship Biotecture, though. Plus, I think earthships are naturally photogenic structures. They have some truly fantastic interiors.
I’ve got a bunch more pics coming up later this week of the little one I stayed in.
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I wonder what building inspectors say about these? Somehow I don’t think they meet IBC although they certainly look very nice and have lots of cool features.
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@EJ, Michael Reynolds went through a pretty significant battle with the city of Taos over this a few years back. The documentary Garbage Warrior, on which you’ll see an entry on tomorrow, goes through this in some detail.
The biggest thing that seemed to get Reynolds in trouble in Taos wasn’t the structures as much as it was the fact that the communities he’d established didn’t have private ownership of land associated with each house. It was all communal. That was one of the things that had to be changed in order to receive the blessing from the city to continue building. He also ended up having to get a bill passed in the state legislature to continue building new forms of experimental structures.
In terms of the actual houses, some cities have had problems with the gray water management and/or have required that the houses be attached to local utilities even if they never drew power/water from them.
From the reading I’ve been doing, though, places that are receptive to other forms of rammed earth buildings can generally be convinced to accept earthships. Especially when architectural drawings with a seal are provided.
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